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Monday, March 31, 2014

This bookish feature is an original by me! I had the epiphany for this the other day when I was writing out my 15 bookish confessions. (See #7) A lot of times I like to go "beyond the book" and do something that will connect me with the book and characters a little more. It will pop up on Mondays! Be on the look out for which books caught my eye and made me go beyond just reading it!

One of my favorite things about the Wizard of Oz is how the story is known by EVERYONE! It was written by Frank L. Baum and is actually an entire series. With all those different characters and all those different stories, everyone mainly knows the original one. With Dorothy, To-To, Glinda, the munchkins, the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. Because this story is so well known, you can only imagine all the remakes it's had.

My favorite remake of The Wizard of Oz is the movie "The Wiz." It features an all black cast and and soulful songs. The late Michael Jackson plays the Scarecrow and Diana Ross plays Dorothy. They are my favorites. When Dorothy is hurt in a snowstorm, she is taken to "Oz" where she meets the Munchkins that are actually graffiti. You just have to watch it. Trust me, you'll love it. There's also the most recent one that I fell in love with as well "Oz: The Great and Powerful." This one tells more information from the complete story of Oz adapted from the sequels.

I also love that the story is so well known that so many people can make references to it and EVERYONE understands it. In other words, pop culture has been good to The Wizard. Just the other day, something happened on Criminal Minds and David Rossi said "Dorothy, we not in Kansas anymore." It just goes to show you, The Wizard of Oz is a story that's known and loved by all kinds of people. Another show that's starting to talk about it lately is Once Upon a Time. We all know I'm a huge fan, so when I saw that this was basically the focus of this season, I was hooked! And it's all there, complete with flying monkeys and a completely green evil lady.

Then of course, there's the books like Dorothy Must Die. That is the exact opposite of the original story, casting everyone as evil. I won't go into too much detail about this because the book isn't out yet, but I will say I can't wait for the world to read it. Then there's the story of Wicked. When this book became a play, EVERYONE was either talking about it, reading it, or planning to go see it. This show and book became huge where I was from and it seemed like my entire school (even those who just wanted to see the play) were talking about it. The Wizard of Oz is known and loved by people everywhere! I believe that everyone is eagerly awaiting this Dorothy MustDie because they just can't imagine the sweet little girl with pigtails and sparkly slippers as a bitch. But let me tell you, that story will not only shock readers, but will pull them in and show them a side of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, The Tin Man, and the Lion that Dorothy never wanted them to see! Make sure you all go out and buy Dorothy Must Die tomorrow! It's such a great story! I can't wait until I have more people to fan girl over it with!

Any other Wizard of Oz references, spin offs, shows, movies or anything that you can think of that I missed? Have you seen or read any of these references I mentioned? How much do YOU love The Wizard of Oz?

Have you ever had such a connection with a book that you had to go beyond just reading it?

Friday, March 28, 2014

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. Basically how it works is you follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. So looking forward to making new blogging friends & following blogs!

Snap it Time! A picture is worth a thousand words. Anything and anything. Just give us a pic.

I went with TWO pics because I kind of thought these were kind of similar... I find that I like to drink things while I read and lately they've been matchy matchy with the book that I read.

The book I just finished was Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and there is a scene in there with an apple tree.... And low and behold what's in my picture! An Angry Orchard lol The creepy tree on the bottle made me think of how it might look in the book!

And now my current read is Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae! I realized halfway through a glass of wine that this one kinds of goes with this read as well. With it being set in Italy there is PLENTY of wine and plenty more Italian goodies like gelato! In this particular I'm drinking a glass of Red Moscato from Beringer. In the book some of the characters drink wine like it's just a regular non-alcoholic drink!

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened?

Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission:

Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.

Steal the Scarecrow's brain.

Take the Lion's courage.

Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

*MY THOUGHTS*

When I saw this book was coming out I was a little excited. I love re-tellings and I love The Wizard of Oz. So two of my favorite things together adding to the fact that there is a hint of evil in it makes it even better. This was my most anticipated read of 2014 and I was NOT disappointed.

"'I didn't know what was worse: to have your shot and screw it up, or to never have had a shot in the first place."
pg. 5

My favorite thing about this book was the characters. I loved the re-imagining of them. All of the main characters like Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Lion, and The TinMan were all creepy and the characters that Amy meets up with are all cool. And when I say creepy, I mean CREEPY. There were some points I couldn't believe that Paige went there, but the object of the story was to make those lovable creatures that we know and love into something weird and scary,and dude, she succeeded.

"'If you have to be alone though, wouldn't you rather be alone with friends?"
pg. 123

I also loved the way the story was told. When I saw that the book was supposed to be made into a series I was a little scared. I read the back and saw that there was a certain way to do things and I was thinking to stretch that out over an entire series would include a lot of fluff. It was an issue I actually had from the prequel No Place Like Oz. But this one actually did not have too much fluff, it just set the stage for the next books in the series. Which is now what I'm scared for. What could possibly go on in those books. But clearly Paige's imagination is wonderful and amazing and hopefully I won't have to be afraid.

"'Good and evil were always changing places with each other."
pg. 252

I also liked the twists and turns. I had my suspicions with a certain person, but I could never pinpoint it. But in the end when the secret was revealed, I was definitely in shock. Any book that can keep me guessing and still surprise me is a winner in my book.

"'Those who have sacrificed always have the most to lose."
pg. 298

And of course, I wanted to save the best for last. The world building in this is phenomenal. It may be a re-imagining of a beautiful fantasy world, but the way she made if differently will stay with me forever. Especially the Scarecrow's lab. *shudders* Her visions made an imprint on me and I will not think of these characters and their home the same.

"Doing Good had been uglier than I'd expected it to be. And the price... the price now was feeling like I needed to always be looking over my shoulder."
pg. 365

Everything about the story was amazing. It came to be a lot better than I thought it would be. The characters were great and easy to relate to, the plot was easy to follow with some unexpected twists, and the world building was great as well. The only thing that made me nervous is the setup for the next books. Let's hope they're as great as the first.

Overall, I give this

Will you read this? What do you think of the original? Are you a fan of re-tellings? What part are you most looking forward to in this book? Let me know! I love discussions!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

This bookish meme tells the blogosphere what we're waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for! It's hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White. “I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.” Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him. Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

Published by: HarperTeen

Release Date: September 9, 2014

Why I'm Waiting: I am a sucker for a good story that involves magic. And let's be honest... This cover is GORGEOUS. Last but certainly not least, Kiersten White has been one of my faves since Paranormalcy, and I can't wait to see what this new book is all about!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we will post a new Top Ten list. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Things on my Bookish Bucket List!

*These are in no particular order!

I did a list like this once before, but some things have since changed! Some things I have accomplished and other things I haven't! So, without further ado, here's my list!

1. I would love to go to an Epic Reads event and be able to Book Shimmy in person with the amazing Team Epic Reads! I love their show "Tea Time" and I am honored to be a "Crumpet!"

2. I want to go to BEA one day. maybe even ALA. Or RT. Something where there will be a lot of authors and alot of publishers. So that way I can meet all of them and fan girl in person.

3. Listen to an audiobook of a book that I've never read: I tend to only listen to books that I've already read because I have a very short attention span. I don't like to miss anything when I read, so I find myself listening to the same part over and over..... And over smh

4. I plan to read more books outside my normal genres: I love paranormal romance and contemps as much as the next person. There are three that I am really interested in- Dystopia, historical fiction, and high fantasy. (I just think dragons are cool lol)

5. Go to more author signings: I have now been to two and I've already become spoiled. I want to go to as many as I can.

6. Read more reviews: I tend to only read reviews after I've read the book and written my own, so realistically, I only read about one or two. I want to read more so and comment on more because let's be honest.... That's the reason I write mine. So people can read them and relate to them!

7. Stop skimming bad book reviews and deciding not to read the book: i have to admit... I'm a person that reads just for the hype. If there is a lot of hype surrounding the book, I'm more likely to read it. Why? I like to see if it lives up to its expectations. But the downfall to that is if the book is attracting negative attention, I will make up my mind about it before I even read it. And I feel like I may be missing out on a good book... All because I never gave it a chance.

8. Visit the wonderful world of Harry Potter: I will visit there and I will have the time of my life. I will be that girl that tastes ButterBeer and goes into a sugar induced coma from to many sweets at Honey Duke's!

9. Find my bookish job that is the best fit for me: I'm looking at librarian jobs right now, but being honest, the Epic Reads girls have an AMAZING job and I would love to do something like that. If you know of anywhere hiring, I promise I'd be good lol

10. Stop adding books to my TBR until I make a big enough dent in it: For every book I finish I end up adding at least 5 to my TBR pile. I'm working on trying not to add any more until I make at least a five book dent in it.

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About Me

29 years young. College grad. Working as a Youth Services Specialist. Masters from ALA accredited Univ. of North Texas (Library Science with a Youth Services certificate!) so that I can spread the word of literature to the youth. Books are a vacation and can take you anywhere you want to go... So follow me as I let books "Take Me Away... On the Pages of their Story."

Currently Reading

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

Currently Listening:

A Stranger in the House by Shari LaPena

To all publishers and authors:

I do accept books (only MG/YA/NA)to be reviewed from big/small publishers or from any authors. I do not accept E-books. Also, I try not to review any books too far in advance of the publication date. Anyway, don’t hesitate to email me at pnh002@gmail.com.